


Walking straight into the lion den

by DigiConjurer



Series: The unsorted adventures of Princess Byleth and the Black Eagles [50]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route Spoilers, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Minor Character Death, Politics, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), References to Count Varley, Tragedy of Duscur references, chapter 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:21:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiConjurer/pseuds/DigiConjurer
Summary: In which Bernadetta and Edelgard head to the Imperial Palace to make some things crystal clear.It goes as well as you think it would.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/Bernadetta von Varley
Series: The unsorted adventures of Princess Byleth and the Black Eagles [50]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1463725
Kudos: 7





	1. Careful steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, two parter because that's how it works out. Enjoy.

I don't own fire emblem.

* * *

Embarr was just how Edelgard remembered it being. Cold and inhospitable, even by the nicest vehicle they could rent out. Sure, she wasn’t really supposed to be driving at the moment. That was something that Hubert would usually cover for. Thankfully, she had his fake driver’s license. Which is still not an excuse to be driving without a proper license. Or to rent out a car and take your girlfriend to your house to talk some sense into the various governors. Okay, the last part of that was a bit of a long shot. If all else fails, Edelgard had a backup plan. Sure, she would prefer not to enact quite yet, but that could easily.

For now at least, her attention shifted to her girlfriend. Overall, Bernadetta had taken to the trip quite well. Sure, there had been a handful of housewife moments, but those were easily dealt with some positive self-talk and hugs.

“I never thought I would come here.” Bernadetta remarked, staring out the car window. A far cry from the academy and even her own territory for that matter, this had a far different feel to it. Oppressing, yet… sad. Like a cage meant to hold something in but had become a capital instead. And then got taken away at the last possible moment.

“Have you heard of the Insurrection of the Seven?” Edelgard continued, her girlfriend’s gaze shifting away from the window and over to her. Judging by the blank expression on the archer’s face at the moment, that would be a no. “It’s kind of complicated, but I’ll try to explain it to you as best I can.”

.

Six motorbikes head towards a convoy. Armed with explosives and crossbows, they only had one real shot at pulling this off. For the occupants within the convoy, this was a complete and utter blindside - a total betrayal to all that the values of the Empire. In truth, this was just business. They had made their demands crystal clear. If nothing else, the Emperor should’ve expected this to happen to him and his family. This wasn’t much to be asking for. But no, he just had to push in reforms that would result in loss of power in a multitude of ways. If anything, sending this initial round of grunts was a brave warning shot. But in actuality, an act of cowardice and covering their own asses.

The first grunt throws a landmine ahead, crossbow at the ready. Sure, they had orders not to target certain vehicles and people, but that wasn’t going to stop them from causing as much chaos and destruction as possible for a better empire.

“On my mark.” he announced over his helmet radio, the chatter echoing back in agreement with this plan. Even if their leader had already gone through the trouble of throwing one of their weapons out without any warning. But that’s the least of their problems for now. “Now.”

His companions drive forward, throwing their explosives forward and getting their crossbows ready. If the explosives didn’t do most of these idiots in, the rest of their assault would send a similar message. If not, there was always… other options. Options that were less than pretty and would result in the loss of even more lives.

The first landmine goes off, the lead vehicle getting thrown up into the air. The passengers inside are thrown about, seat belts doing little in the way of saving their lives. Not sure what would actually help them here. Especially once the air bags had gone off and smashed into their unprotected faces. Even then, it was likely that the landing would do them in the process.

“What is the meaning of this?” one of the people in the car announced, their cries silenced by a mix of crossbow fire and the glass of windows shattering on impact. All while classical music blasts out from one of the vans. One by one, the vehicles are struck down. Yet, one still remains. What exactly they did to be spared is beyond our knowledge. Perhaps they were the ones who just got lucky. Who can really say with stuff like this. Possibly a mix of both here.

Whatever the case, these grunts make quick work of these nobles. All while their fellow members stir up even more trouble for the sake of an unknown entity.

.

* * *

“Yikes.” Bernadetta remarked, buildings now coming into view. You had just everything you could ever want in a city. But that was not where her attention found its way too. No, she was gazing as best she could towards the Imperial Palace - their destination and possible upheaval of this situation. “I’m guessing Count Varley was involved to an extent?”

Edelgard nodded, gaze returning to the road itself. With Count Varley out of the picture, things should be easier now. But in truth, it felt like the opposite. Even more opposition believed they could just pop out of the wood work and fuck with the boulder rolling down. Sure, they would push it back up. Eventually, it would come on down and crush all those morons. It always does. Just a matter of riding this out till that moment presented itself.

“Very much so.” the house leader explained and took a deep breath. While it was probably not best to tell Bernadetta this, she needed to at least know the possibility. “If not for the other governors, it’s quite possible that he would have raped his way through the royal family. Not that it would surprise if he was having some kind of affair at that time that may have resulted in a child.”

Bernadetta looked away. While sure, it’s not really a secret all the shit that her father had done. In a way, this trip was to confirm just how deep this went. The true extent of douchebaggery that someone as fucked up as her father would go too. Kind of reminds us of the time that we had to tail Iago. Absolutely sadistic fucker. Took pleasure in using children for his various experiments. If he weren’t such a high ranking official in the Nohrian royal court, I probably would’ve torn him apart with one of my own spells and then have Mozu fire all her arrows into him. Just for good measure. Yes, I’m very much aware violence isn’t the end all solution for problems. But for a fucker such as Iago, it was the only way. For better or worse.

“Your highness, I suggest you leave that stuff for after this is all said and done.” the countess snapped back, glaring down her girlfriend for the moment. Oh dear. That’s definitely a housewife moment. “Right now, I think our focus should be on getting ready for this meeting.”

Edelgard didn’t answer, making the briefest of glances towards her girlfriend. While enough to disarm the other part of Bernadetta, she did have a point. For better or worse, this was not a trip for pleasure or to really celebrate the victory over Count Varley. No, they were here to make it fundamentally clear that Bernadetta was now the current governor of the Varley Territory. Maybe even talk the other governors out of not disowning their children for one reason or another. Heck, maybe she could even get them all on her side. Quite ambitious for what was likely to be a single day meeting.

Yet, they were going to have to give it a shot. For no other reason than to prevent another army attempting to invade Gareg Mach. That’s definitely something you wish to avoid. 

The parking lot for the Imperial Palace came into view and Edelgard slowed the car down. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hard to find a parking spot when there’s nearly no vehicles for the moment. But that goes without saying.

“Ready to do this?” Edelgard remarked, turning the engine off and unbuckling her seat belt. Bernadetta nodded, but took the time to grab hold of her girlfriend’s hand. A squeeze followed as the pair exited the car. Now or never, they were going to make their stand.


	2. Scorched Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, sometimes the best solution is to just step up onto the throne and sit yourself down. Maybe even get your girlfriend to do the same.

I don't own fire emblem.

* * *

Compared to everywhere else that Bernadetta had seen in her life (that being her home and the nearby playground) , there was something about the scale of the Imperial Palace to just take in. Sure, she suspected that a lot of it was more for show with the actual ‘living areas’ being a heck of a lot smaller and more intimate.

“So how long has it been since your last visit?” she whispered and got a sigh from her girlfriend in return. While that question was to be expected, sure, that didn’t change the time spent trying to recall how long ago she could actually say this place was her home. Sure, the memories were most definitely there. But between the days spent trapped in a cell and getting shoved into a role that she had every intention of locking into said cell to rot for however long it took for them to die. Yet, she took a mental deep breath. That was stuff Bernadetta could be told later, once the dust settled and some form of 'peace had been attained.

“A while.” the house leader answered as she grabbed hold of her girlfriend’s hand once more. It felt quite nice, a far cry from what they were heading right towards. "Do you want to take the elevator or the stairs?"

As segways go, that was absolutely weak. Like, weird 'after-battle' conversation because your boss wants you to be all buddy-buddy with each other. Though you're absolutely certain on the one you wish to bring into your world. Even if they'll pass long before you do. But then she tells you that it's for the sake of getting to know people and the friendships you create. Not sure if I really see her argument though. Oh. I got incredibly off-topic right there, judging by the way that my wife is looking at me. Hey. No matter what happens, I'll hold my memory of you tightly so I don't forget. How does that sound?

"The stairs work for me." Bernadetta answered, finding herself getting led down the hall and to the right. Great and all, if not for the fact that brought the couple to a wall of all places. Not even a nice-looking wall for something as grand as this palace would suggest. Especially with the only thing of note being that of a candlestick. Really setting the bar high here.

Yet, Edelgard grabbed hold of the outdated form of lighting and pulled it down. The wall scooted back a foot, sliding back to the right to reveal a staircase. Though, I don't think it is really a good idea to have the switch be the one thing that looks incredibly dated. Especially when you have a tour group coming through and there's a kid who thinks it's really cute to touch everything and finds this. This is just a lawsuit waiting to happen, folks. That's beyond the point, since our pair were taking these steps two at a time with no signs of really slowing. Especially the voice of the other governors began echoing out.

“There’s no fucking way that slut will really make us have her girlfriend of all people be the govenor of that territory.”

“Probably lying about what happened to Count Varley. There’s no way that those posts online are real. That must be some big hoax just to get our guards down in the hopes of our children taking our place.”

“Should smash all of their heads into a table.”

“I should smash your head into this table right now for throwing one at my son,”

“Not my fault he turned into a fucking fairy being around you. You know what… I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

What sounds like banging erupts from the room, Bernadetta and Edelgard’s pace speeding up. Just a little bit further. Maybe they would bring an end to this nonsense. But nothing can truly prepare them for what waits at the top of these steps.

It would be bad enough if there was just the pounding of someone’s head in the background. But add in all the discarded cans of beer and the drops of red on the table, this is not going to be one of those nice sorts of meeting.

“It’s nice to see you’ve all been getting yourselves acquainted with each other once more.” Edelgard muttered as she took a seat. Bernadetta was right behind, trying her hardest to ignore the drunken glares aimed right for her at the moment. Not sure if the archer’s attempts are really that successful. Worth a shot.

“There youu are.” Count von Aegir announced, taking a swig from his flask. Probably whiskey, maybe even tequila. Could even be a mix of both. I doubt it’s any good all mixed together like that. Can’t even think of any recipes that would use both at the same time. Those definitely exist, but beyond our point for the moment. What’s worse is the stack of papers that are no doubt now covered in a mix of booze, puke and of course blood. The blood from Count Bergeliez, of course.

“This sort of behavior is not welcomed in this castle.” Edelgard screeched, gaze on Count von Aegir for the moment. She snatched the flask right after, just for good measure. Then it’s right back too Bernadetta. “Countess Varley is just as good if not a better governor than all of you combined - sober or otherwise.”

Her words come right out, Bernadetta finding herself getting stared down. Sure, this isn’t what the countess was expecting to find. No, she was hoping for them to at least introduce themselves to her. But no, they had to get drunk on their asses and beat up one of their own. Because that’s how politics work around here. How else are you supposed to get things changed? Ask nicely and hope they listen? No, sometimes you need to apply pressure to get the things you want. Or at least, get closer to your goals. No one ever said this sort of thing was some kind of linear process. A complete and utter mess is a better way to describe it. Seriously, I'm not sure how anyone involved actually gets things done. But we've gotten off-topic once more. My bad.

"You're all cowards." she muttered, gazing around at her fellow governors for the moment. Part of her wanted to punch each and every one of them. Maybe then some sense would enter their heads after letting their own judgement get clouded. "If you truly gave a metric shit, you wouldn't have stood by as Count Varley raped the ever living fuck out of his staff and me. But no, that's would be too much effort to put in from lazing about like a bunch of stupid koalas."

Edelgard's gaze shot over to her girlfriend. Out of all the things that Bernadetta had said in their time together, this felt like a stark contrast from her usual, recluse self. But between all the stress, hardships and the housewife moments, she understood those feelings. Perhaps far too well for someone who would one day inherit an entire kingdom. Especially with all the duties and problems that could come with it. Of course, one of said problems was what to do with these useless pieces of shit. Sure, waiting for them to all pass was great and all. But that would mean that everyone who was going to replace them would be far out of their prime. Murder was also an option, but Edelgard doubted that would work. Probably just make things even worse than they already were. If such a possibility could really occur at the moment. So for now, she was going to need to bite her tongue and see how this pl-

“I refuse.” Count Vestra announced, stink eye aimed right for Edelgard. This is not helped by the stone bouncing up and down in his hand. Like I said, force with words. Except at this range, it’s quite likely throwing that out would hit someone else in the process and possibly kill one of his fellow governors. This situation is already bad enough, but to add possible murder into this? That’s absolutely criminal. Imagine, this behavior gets out. Then what happens? Not a lot of good if experience is to go by. Hans thought he had the balls to barge in and attempt to blow everyone up. All it did was blow him up instead. Or in other words, he went out with a bang. But not before Corrin chainsawed his head off. Good times, good times.   
“How does the possibility of jail time sound?” Edelgard countered, Count Hevring smashing his rival’s head into the table just one more time for good measure. “I could just march up to my father and ask him to make me Emperor. He’s been asking for quite some time to do that.”

Silence fell over the room. While sure, the emperor wasn’t quite the one in charge these days, that didn’t make the possible change of management comforting. At any moment, their jobs could be taken away and replaced by their very own children. Especially when that also meant that all they had worked would be for naught.

“You’re too much of a coward to really do that, dear.” a voice called out, everyone turning their attention towards the man at the far end of the room. A seedy-looking man, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had his hands in some questionable things.

“Uncle, you know what?” Edelgard screeched, grabbing hold of Bernadetta’s hand and standing up from the table. While this meeting had only just begun, it wasn’t worth it. “Go fuck yourself.”

With that, the pair exited the meeting room and continued up the stairs. Eventually, a large chamber comes into view. A man is sitting on a throne, life support machines beeping about. He’s seen better days, but a little glimmer crosses over his eyes as Edelgard and Bernadetta made their entrance.

“Father, it’s been a while.” Edelgard whispered and pulled her girlfriend in. Not even missing a beat, she took a deep breath. “I would like to take the throne. I’m aware this is sudden, but this infection must be purged from our empire for a better future.”

Her words roll out, Bernadetta looking towards the house leader. This all felt like a weird fever dream brought about the frustrations of that meeting. But this was real though, strange as that was to tell herself.

“If that is what you wish to do, I shall allow it.” the man explained, standing up and choosing to go to the side of the throne. Which was Edelgard’s cue to take a seat. But not without Bernadetta. Even if the countess did look funny in the lap of her girlfriend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Scorched earth indeed. 
> 
> A short break, then we see the repercussions for such a decision. Then, a heist. Hopefully.


End file.
